Upon hearing this, the previously low spirits of the workers disappeared, and they became eager and excited.

One of them shouted, “The boss treats us well, we won’t disappoint her!”

Just as the words fell, another worker asked, “Boss, when will we start making these new noodles?”

Jiang Yanyi replied, “As soon as the new stoves are ready, the noodle shop will begin work.”

Having asserted her authority and motivated the workers, Jiang Yanyi dismissed them.

Afterward, she had a private conversation with Master Hong, the most experienced worker at the noodle shop.

She had expected Master Hong to be loyal to the previous owner and to show some hostility toward her.

However, as soon as Master Hong entered the room, he knelt and gave her a deep bow, saying, “This old servant thanks the new boss.”

Jiang Yanyi was startled and hurriedly went forward to help him up. “What are you doing, Master Hong?”

Tears streamed down Master Hong’s face. “Tian’s Noodle Shop was the master’s life’s work. If you hadn’t bought the shop, the young master would have been forced to pawn it to the gambling house. That would have led to it being swallowed up by Xu’s Noodle Shop.”

Jiang Yanyi had heard of Xu’s Noodle Shop, the largest in West City.

Master Hong then proceeded to tell her about the long-standing feud between Tian’s Noodle Shop and Xu’s.

Years ago, Tian’s was the most renowned noodle shop in West City, but after Xu’s opened, they poached several of Tian’s master noodle makers and most of their workers.

Since then, Tian’s had been in decline.

To prevent more workers from being poached, the old owner of Tian’s had only employed workers with indenture contracts.

However, the shop’s fortunes continued to wane.

After the old owner’s death, Xu’s attempted to take over Tian’s, but even in its decline, Tian’s still had some value, so Xu’s couldn’t destroy it immediately.

Unfortunately, the young master of Tian’s was a notorious gambler, and Xu’s partnered with the gambling houses to push the noodle shop to the brink of ruin.

The young master of Tian’s had tried to sell off the house and servants, but the brokers, who were in league with Xu’s, only offered a fraction of the true value.

The young master refused to sell at such a low price, resorting instead to drinking away his sorrows.

It was then that he met Jiang Yanyi, who was looking to take over a noodle shop, providing a way out.

In Master Hong’s eyes, even if the shop was handed over to someone else, it was better than letting Xu’s Noodle Shop absorb it.

After hearing the full story, Jiang Yanyi couldn’t help but feel a bit sympathetic.

On the way back, she said to Bian Shao, “I don’t have many reliable people at the moment. Once the noodle shop starts up, I want you to act as the manager there for a while. Keep an eye on things for me.”

She didn’t trust anyone from outside to manage the shop.

While the method for making instant noodles would eventually be discovered, she wanted to keep it a secret for as long as possible.

Bian Shao was dependable, skilled in martial arts, and with him managing the shop, nothing would go wrong.

Yang Xiu, on the other hand, was more clever and would be able to help with more tasks in the main store.

Bian Shao, who always had a stoic expression, remained silent for a moment after hearing her request, then asked, “Boss, can I still come to the main store for my three meals a day?”

Jiang Yanyi couldn’t help but laugh. “Of course.”

Hearing this, Bian Shao cheerfully agreed. “Then I’ll go manage the shop.”

Yang Xiu rolled his eyes at his brother, while Bian Shao deliberately stepped back and stomped on Yang Xiu’s shoe.

As Jiang Yanyi walked ahead, she was unaware of the two brothers’ antics behind her.

When they passed by the butcher Ma’s shop, the butcher immediately called out, “Manager Jiang, I’ve got fresh duck necks today. Would you like some?”

Jiang Yanyi hadn’t expected that after only buying them once, the butcher would keep duck necks in stock for her.

She replied, “Weigh it, please.”

The last time, the duck necks had been so popular that no one in the shop had gotten enough.

The butcher, liking straightforward customers, quickly weighed the duck necks. “Thirty-three coins, but I’ll round it down for you. Just thirty coins.”

After Jiang Yanyi paid, the butcher said, “If you need anything else, just let me know. I’ll make sure to have it ready for you.”

Jiang Yanyi thought for a moment and said, “Chicken feet.”

In this era, chickens and ducks were usually sold whole, and it wasn’t easy to buy just the feet.

But pickled chicken feet and braised chicken feet were too delicious to resist!

The butcher found Jiang’s taste for meat a bit peculiar.

Duck necks and chicken feet—parts with very little meat—were not the usual choices.

Still, he agreed reluctantly, “If someone doesn’t want the chicken feet, I’ll save them for you.”

Jiang Yanyi thanked him and then headed back to the shop with Yang Xiu and Bian Shao.

Just as she settled by the fire to warm herself, her seat barely warmed, a group of officials arrived.

“Manager Jiang, please come with us,” said the lead officer, his expression serious.

Jiang Yanyi was confused, “Why am I being taken to the courthouse?”

The officer replied, “The son of the owner of the Xingshun gambling house has been killed. The owner believes that the young master of the Tian family killed him over unpaid debts. We found a large sum of silver notes on the young master, and he claims that the money came from selling the noodle shop to you. We need you to testify at the court.”

Jiang Yanyi hadn’t expected that buying a noodle shop would drag her into a murder case. It was almost noon, and the shop was busy, so she left Shao Bing to help while she took only Yang Xiu with her to the courthouse.

At the courthouse, as a witness, she had to wait outside the courtroom for a while.

Inside, the young master of the Tian family and the gambling house owner were both kneeling.

The young master looked like he had been beaten badly, with bruises all over his face, while the gambling house owner was kneeling beside him, crying and wailing.

The crowd of onlookers was chatting animatedly, and Jiang Yanyi pieced together the story from their fragmented conversations.

That morning, the body of the gambling house owner’s son had been found in a brothel alley.

It happened that the night before, the young master of the Tian family, who had suddenly come into money, went to visit a prostitute.

He got into a fight with the gambling house owner’s son over a courtesan and was badly beaten by the owner’s men, leaving him with a face like a pig’s head.

Jiang Yanyi didn’t recognize the magistrate sitting in court, but he appeared very dignified, with the aura of a military man.

When the bailiff reported that the witness had arrived, the magistrate glanced outside and said, “Bring her in.”

Only then was Jiang Yanyi allowed to enter the courtroom.

Clerk Song asked her, “Are you the owner of Jiang’s Antique Soup?”

Jiang Yanyi responded calmly, “Yes, that’s me.”

Clerk Song knew that Jiang Yanyi was the niece of Chu Changping and had recently been adopted into his household, so he didn’t make things difficult for her.

He simply proceeded with the official questioning, “When did you conduct the transaction with Tian Sheng for the noodle shop yesterday?”

“I went to the Tian family noodle shop at one-quarter past 7 AM,” Jiang Yanyi replied. “After negotiating the price, we both went to the government office to transfer the land deed. By the time we returned, it was already noon.”

The young master of the Tian family immediately kowtowed and pleaded, “My lord, I’ve been wrongly accused! That silver came from selling the noodle shop and my servants, not from Zhao Yao’s murder!”

Clerk Song slammed the gavel and demanded, “Where did you go after fighting with Zhao Yao last night?”

The young master, face still covered in bruises, replied, “I went out drinking.”

“Can anyone testify to that?” Clerk Song asked.

The young master looked utterly devastated, “I bought a bottle of wine and wandered the streets, drinking as I walked. I don’t even know when I passed out under someone’s eaves.”

The gambling house owner, eyes red with anger, shouted, “Stop making excuses! You were angry and waited for my son to be alone before killing him!”

The young master protested, “I didn’t do it!”

Seeing that the two were about to get into another fight, Clerk Song banged the gavel again and had the officers separate them. He was about to speak when another officer rushed in and whispered something in his ear.

Clerk Song’s expression changed, and he announced in a stern voice, “Court dismissed. The case will be reviewed another day.”

The young master of the Tian family was temporarily detained.

Jiang Yanyi felt like her trip to court had been for nothing, just a formality.

As she left, she witnessed an unexpected scene—she saw the gambling house owner boarding the carriage of the owner of Laifu Restaurant.

Remembering what Master Hong had said about Xu’s noodle shop, and realizing that the owner of Laifu Restaurant also had the surname Xu, Jiang Yanyi belatedly realized that Xu’s Noodle Shop might also be part of the Laifu Restaurant business.

It seemed that Xu’s business wanted to take over Tian’s, and they had enlisted the help of the gambling house.

Now, with the gambling house owner’s son dead and the young master of the Tian family as the prime suspect, things were becoming clearer.

But what had the officer whispered to Clerk Song in court that made him suddenly decide not to proceed with the case today?

Lu Linyuan was on duty at the government office that day, but his mind was elsewhere.

He had woken up to find that Jiang Yanxi was missing, and after searching everywhere, he was filled with anxiety.

Yet, with a murder case happening in Xizhou, he couldn’t leave his post.

Just as he was feeling frustrated, he overheard his colleagues discussing the autopsy, mentioning that the murder weapon was a butterfly hairpin.

His face changed drastically, and he could no longer sit still.